I'm loving this book! Lisa St Aubin de Terán is my soul sister! A Valley in Italy is a memoir of a renovation in the Umbrian hills after "searching for a dilapidated Italian villa for three years". With a vision in mind, "I had a mental picture of my ideal house which I had been carrying around with me like a piece of luggage since my schooldays", and with a sensitive and sensible mind, "I wanted a house so huge that I could move from room to empty room without disturbing anyone", Lisa describes the journey with humor and affection. She's got me fantasizing about my dream home.
Sometimes that vision is mutable and changes with your needs at a given time in your life. But there can be an inner knowing of the underlying feeling of the place that remains a constant. Lisa says, "The design of the house was as fickle as most young loves, and changed in shape and layout all the time. The only constant features in my dream image were a pillared loggia, a stone arch, a terracotta balustrade and a line of sentinel cypresses."
I'm just beginning the book but I can tell that I am going to enjoy it all the way through. I love it when I gravitate to just the right book at just the right moment, as this one is for me. St Aubin de Terán throws herself headfirst -- or maybe heartfirst is more accurate -- into her dream with a combination of great self confidence and faith in the unknown. How often in our adult lives do we get to experience that sense of pure estrangement, of being in an unfamiliar realm. Defamiliarization. Not having a routine, or even a clear plan. Of not having the basics, like a phone, electricity, or a car. Not knowing what's around the next bend. How divine.
a road in Tuscany
Part of the dream for me is the luxury of starting from scratch. A blank canvas. Having empty rooms to grace with treasures. And new flea markets to haunt for those treasures. How enchanting.
a room in Florence
a flea market in Italy
And then of course I can dream about the garden for hours. What about you? Where is your dream house and what does it look like?
above and below: Chianti, ItalyCampania, Italy
